Great read about how Inoki is killing NJPW

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

Pro Wrestling Torch

 

This is a AWESOME article about Inoki making the NJPW wrestlers compete in MMA events.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Great read.....

 

I wasn't aware that Takayama caused that much damage to Nakamura. He really is a colossal jackass for stiffing a guy where he's already suffered injuries.

[Guest Black Tiger]

Great read.....

 

I wasn't aware that Takayama caused that much damage to Nakamura. He really is a colossal jackass for stiffing a guy where he's already suffered injuries.

I think you're a little harsh there Mad Dog.

 

Two pro wrestlers with MMA experience, I'd expect nothing less than for them to go stiff on one another. Also from what I've read in auto biographies like Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, and Dynamite Kid. If someone has an injury then they actually encourage that it be attacked during the match to add realism to it.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Great read.....

 

I wasn't aware that Takayama caused that much damage to Nakamura.  He really is a colossal jackass for stiffing a guy where he's already suffered injuries.

I think you're a little harsh there Mad Dog.

 

Two pro wrestlers with MMA experience, I'd expect nothing less than for them to go stiff on one another. Also from what I've read in auto biographies like Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, and Dynamite Kid. If someone has an injury then they actually encourage that it be attacked during the match to add realism to it.

Still.....

 

I think it's possible to go after an injured body part without totally stiffing them and basically destroying the whole guy's face. If you had say a broken neck I can still attack your neck in a credible manner without head dropping you or causing further damage.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

The problem with blaming Inoki, of course, is that none of the wrestlers have to fight. They're offered big pay checks for doing so, but no one's holding a gun to their head.

 

Nagata, Nakamura, Fujita, Takayama, and the rest are just as responsible for the shoot disasters as Inoki, and placing the blame solely on him is a cop-out.

[Guest Astro]

Wasn't inoki rumored to be coming out of retirement in mid 2003? What ever became of that?

[Guest Jimbo]

Great read.....

 

I wasn't aware that Takayama caused that much damage to Nakamura.  He really is a colossal jackass for stiffing a guy where he's already suffered injuries.

I think you're a little harsh there Mad Dog.

 

Two pro wrestlers with MMA experience, I'd expect nothing less than for them to go stiff on one another. Also from what I've read in auto biographies like Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, and Dynamite Kid. If someone has an injury then they actually encourage that it be attacked during the match to add realism to it.

attacking an injured area and stiffing an injured area to add realism are two different things..

[Vyce 0]

Is Nagata's career really that hopeless?

 

I refuse to believe that he's going to be remembered as a joke when it's all said and done.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

If that were true, the most recent fight with Fedor certainly didn't help, and the fact that he promises to continue fighting in shoots won't help either.

[Guest Black Tiger]

Nagata's less than thrilling MMA record is part of what makes him such a sympathetic figure in NJPW.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

Nagata's less than thrilling MMA record is part of what makes him such a sympathetic figure in NJPW.

Good point, but is this going to help his drawing power at all? I sure don't think so.

[Guest Black Tiger]

Nagata's less than thrilling MMA record is part of what makes him such a sympathetic figure in NJPW.

Good point, but is this going to help his drawing power at all? I sure don't think so.

Nobody is really a big draw in NJPW anymore, which is why they keep resorting to outsiders for their big shows. Probably the only NJPW wrestler left who can still draw anything decent is Chono.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

Nobody is really a big draw in NJPW anymore, which is why they keep resorting to outsiders for their big shows. Probably the only NJPW wrestler left who can still draw anything decent is Chono.

I agree that nobody there has any real drawing power anymore. Do you think that would change though if the guys weren't forced to go into shoots where they get destroyed? I don't know if you have seen any of Nagata's MMA stuff, but I understand why people are starting not to take him seriously. What a shame, because I think Yuji is actually really good.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Nagata's less than thrilling MMA record is part of what makes him such a sympathetic figure in NJPW.

I doubt that the sympathy his shoot losses build for him outways the huge loss in credibility that they gave him.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

Nagata's less than thrilling MMA record is part of what makes him such a sympathetic figure in NJPW.

I doubt that the sympathy his shoot losses build for him outways the huge loss in credibility that they gave him.

Exactly my point RC. But here is my question. Is Inoki really this hellbent on proving how tough pro wrestlers are, or is he too cheap to pay guys to job to his wrestlers like he did when shooters used to wrestle and job to him?

[Guest RickyChosyu]

I'm not sure whether it's true or not, but Stuart has said a few times that Inoki paid Jerome Le Banner to lose to Tadoa Yasuda in their 12/31/01 MMA fight. I'm not sure if that's true, but if it is Le Banner's price for throwing the fight would have been enormous.

 

At this point, Inoki's main concern is getting his MMA shows back in the race against PRIDE and K1. It's not a matter of killing NJPW, it's getting good ratings for his show, even if that means sacrificing Nagata to Fedor or Takayama to Cro Cop.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

I'm not sure whether it's true or not, but Stuart has said a few times that Inoki paid Jerome Le Banner to lose to Tadoa Yasuda in their 12/31/01 MMA fight. I'm not sure if that's true, but if it is Le Banner's price for throwing the fight would have been enormous.

 

At this point, Inoki's main concern is getting his MMA shows back in the race against PRIDE and K1. It's not a matter of killing NJPW, it's getting good ratings for his show, even if that means sacrificing Nagata to Fedor or Takayama to Cro Cop.

Did you mean good ratings for NJ or good ratings for his MMA show? Because I heard the MMA shows have been disasters.

[Guest Black Tiger]

The MMA shows have been disasters, and because of Inoki using his top NJPW guys and them, and they've all mostly gotten destroyed. His NJPW shows have been disasters as well.

 

It's not all Inoki's fault because the economy in Japan is in a recession right now and none of the puro feds are making a killing. AJPW went from selling out two straight Budokan shows to putting 6,000 in the damn Tokyo Dome.

[Guest Dave O'Neill, Journalist]

But at least NJ have a contingency plan.

 

Noah's doing well - but their main event scene screwed - Kobashi and Misawa are on their last legs - Akiyama can't carry the compnay on his own, and theyre no other real main eventers.

 

Z-1 even worse - Hashimoto and Ogawa won't put anyone over.

 

AJ's future is "stick the TC on Kojima and hope to God he draws"

 

NJ, on the other hand, have made a concious effort to push Nakamura, Tanahashi, Shibata, and other who will carry the company (although the juniors ain't up to much)

[Guest RickyChosyu]

It's not all Inoki's fault because the economy in Japan is in a recession right now and none of the puro feds are making a killing. AJPW went from selling out two straight Budokan shows to putting 6,000 in the damn Tokyo Dome.

 

It's hard not to blame the failing of Inoki's MMA shows on the economy when Pride and K1 are doing so well. Puroresu in general is hurting, but that's the result of a recession in stars and in booking on top of the ecconomy going down.